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Certain entrepreneurial skills can’t be taught in school. And, in
my opinion, one of these is knowing how to negotiate your way to
a “yes.” Sometimes it can be hard to get people to understand
your vision. Without being able to comprehend what you’d
ultimately like to accomplish, they automatically tell you “no.”

Business owners who work for themselves must learn fairly quickly
the power of persuasion -- how to negotiate for optimal terms.
Whether you are trying to get seed money for a tech startup or
settling on the best terms for a lease on a new yoga studio, for
instance, it pays to master the craft. Here are few tips and
tricks to keep in mind:

1. Add a human touch. Sometimes, when we
are in business mode, we forget to humanize the process. This can
be detrimental because no one wants to feel like they are
unimportant or aren’t being heard.

Lais Pontes, the president and principal publicist at The Pontes
Group, a Florida-based marketing agency, explains that,
“Sometimes, we forget to add a human touch. Remember to listen
before you speak. You will then be able to properly explain the
value of a product that caters to a party’s specific needs.

“A successful negotiator will create a situation where both
parties walk away from the deal happy.”

2. Be willing to walk away. Walking away
from the table shows that you mean business. Successful business
owners know when something isn’t worth their time. If you feel
like someone is low-balling you, you need to know when to call it
quits in order to keep the integrity of your business intact.

It may be tough to walk away from a negotiation, but sometimes,
that can lead to getting exactly what you want, say co-founders
of the New York-based PR Agency Socialfly, Stephanie Abrams and
Courtney Spritzer. If someone really wants to work with you, they
will figure out a way to make it happen.

3. Know your non-negotiables. Business is a
lot like dating. Before you enter a negotiation, you have to know
your deal-breakers, or what is absolutely non-negotiable about
your business model. I can tell you from experience that people
will always offer suggestions to try to change what you are
doing. Sometimes their advice is valuable; sometimes it’s not.

Abrams and Spritzer explain that sometimes negotiations
necessitate compromise. Try to figure out what is most important
to the other person and what is most important to you. Determine
if there is a way that both parties can mutually benefit, and
then be willing to concede on details that matter the least.

4. Work with people who don’t try to change
you. Rahama Wright, founder of SheaYeleen, a
socially-conscious skin care company, puts it best: “It’s
important to negotiate with someone who sees the value in what
you are doing, and sees you as a partner -- not someone they can
take advantage of.”

Especially when you are first starting out as an underdog, you
can’t let people take advantage of you. You always have to
remember your worth.